FedEx, UPS and US LCCs hit hard by weak US jobs report – Stock Wrap

US airline stocks were dragged down by the US Labor Department report showing the US economy shed a further 467,000 jobs in Jun-2009 – 100,000 more than market expectations – and pushing the US unemployment rate to a 26-year high of 9.5%. But oil prices tumbled by close to 4%, which muted the overall hit on airline stocks.

US LCCs were hardest hit yesterday, with AirTran, Southwest, JetBlue and Allegiant falling 4.9%, 4.4%, 3.9% and 0.7%, respectively. FedEx and UPS were also rocked by the jobless report, falling 3.3% and 4.4%, respectively.